After watching Meredith miscarry about ten times since Thursday night, I just had to write this alternate ending to the scene in Derek's office. My first fanfic!
Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy. If I did, the finale would have been pretty similar (because no one could ever do a better job than Shonda), except Mer would have told Derek about the baby before his surgery. Also, if I had the honor of owning Grey's Anatomy, Meredith and Derek would spend most of every episode either in bed or in the OR together.
"Meredith?" Derek calls, walking into the house.
"In the kitchen," Meredith calls back.
Derek finds her setting the table...with the good china. And the food isn't regular take-out, it looks nice. And Meredith is smiling, really smiling, the way he hasn't seen her smile since...well, probably since before he became chief. He quickly wracks his brain, trying to think of what the occasion is. Their anniversary isn't for another few weeks. Neither of them has a birthday for another few months. They haven't even had a major fight recently. So why on earth is Meredith doing something so unprecedented in the Meredith Chronicles?
"Hey," he says, kissing her.
"Hey," she responds, and he still doesn't get why she's beaming.
"What's all this?" he asks. "Are you finally giving the chief the treatment he deserves?"
Meredith laughs. "I have things to tell you, remember?" she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yeah," Derek responds, hugging her back, and then freezes and stares at her. "Wait, you're not breaking up with me, are you? Because we've been working so hard on the house plans and-"
"Derek," Meredith interrupts. "Sit down and eat."
"Bossy," he teases. He takes off his coat and they both sit down. After some small talk about their days (her surgeries, his paperwork), he finally can't stand the tension. "Seriously, Mer, what did you want to tell me?" he asks, placing a hand on top of hers.
She opens her mouth to speak, and then hesitates. "You're not still in a mood, right?" she asks, somewhat fearfully.
Derek is puzzled. "A mood? What kind of mood? A happy mood? A tired mood? A really-wanting-dirty-sex mood?"
She looks at him for a long moment. Finally, she says, "An I'm stressed out about my job and that's the only thing that really matters right now mood. Because Derek, I can't tell you what I want to tell you if you're in that mood."
He sighs, and squeezes her hand. "Meredith.....I'm sorry about always being preoccupied with my job. I'm not trying to take the stress out on you. I really do love you with all of my heart. I just-"
"I know," Meredith assures him. "I get it."
"You know," Derek says playfully, "At least at the end of a stressful day, I get to come home and see a certain pretty face. That usually takes away a lot of the stress, especially when that pretty face gives me lots of dirty sex, as promised."
"You'll get the sex soon enough," Meredith responds, before taking a deep breath. "Derek," she says, grasping his hand tightly.
Derek looks at her, concerned. What could she be so worried or nervous about? "Yeah?" he asks.
His wife smiles at him again. No, beams. No, her face is positively glowing. "Pretty soon, you'll have more than one pretty face to look at around here."
Derek frowns. "Are we getting more roommates?" he asks. He loves his wife, but isn't it just supposed to be about them now? It's bad enough that Lexie and Karev are always making so much noise.
Meredith smirks at him. "You're going to stare at other women in here and think that they're pretty?" When she sees that he's struggling to come up with an appropriate (and cheesy) response, she asks, "Do you remember a conversation we had recently, in which we discussed pretty people?"
Derek is perplexed for a moment, and then utterly shocked. He's been waiting for years to hear this, from Meredith, from Addison. "Babies." He somehow manages to choke out. "We were talking about pretty babies." Meredith beams at him again. "You-We-What-I-You're pregnant?"
"We're having a baby, Derek," Meredith whispers, and in that moment, he thinks to himself that she has never been more beautiful. He stands up and pulls her into a hug. Their lips meet, and they share a deep kiss, full of passion, love, joy, and hope. They pull apart, and she rests her head against his shoulder. Derek holds her tightly, and can feel tears forming in his eyes. "We're having a baby," he breathes. "You and I are going to be parents." He wants to sing for joy. He wants to call the press. He wants to tell the entire world that he and Meredith Grey, the love of his life, have created a person together. In this moment, Derek Shepherd doesn't think he'll ever be happier.
He's wrong, of course. Because that moment in the kitchen, finding out that Meredith was pregnant, was nothing compared to this moment, so many long months later, as he holds his little girl in his arms. Too overcome with emotion to speak, he wordlessly hands the baby to Meredith, who holds their daughter and gazes at her so lovingly. Their eyes meet for a moment, and they smile at each other. No matter what they have gone through in the past, or what they may go through in the future, Meredith and Derek have each other, and a beautiful daughter, and their life is bright and shiny.
A/N: I really wish Meredith and Derek this happiness at some point in the next two seasons. I'm hoping to put up an idea for a Mer/Der season 7 premiere scene very soon, so keep an eye out! We have to entertain ourselves somehow until September, right?